Second place for Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

A well timed and executed attack from Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) inside the final few hundred metres of stage 4 at the Tour of Guangxi landed the Belgian the win and the overall lead. Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) trailed home on the same time, with BMC’s Nico Roche third at four seconds.

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The explosive climb witnessed the first shake up of the general classification and major time gaps emerge after the opening three stages were all won by sprinter Fernando Gaviria. The Colombian was unable to hold the pace, with Quick-Step Floors teammate Julian Alaphilippe taking over team leadership and riding to fourth place on the stage. Ben Hermans (BMC) rounded out the top five.

How it unfolded

After a stage finish and city circuit the following day, the Tour of Guangxi waved goodbye to Nanning on the morning of stage 4. Tour de France green jersey winner Michael Matthews was a DNS, due to sickness, as the peloton rolled out for the queen stage of the race to Nongla scenic resort.